Poet and critic Paul Valéry once remarked that he could never write a novel because he would have to write sentences like, ‘The Marquis left at five’.
[n.b.: I ran across this anecdote again recently in David Markson's Reader's Block. The above is a paraphrase of his entry.]
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label novel. Show all posts
each word
In a poem, each word has to be right and contribute to the whole; in a story only every sentence. In a novel only every page.
—Alison Laurie, Real People (Penguin, 1978)
—Alison Laurie, Real People (Penguin, 1978)
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